DIRECTIONS: You will have a total of 75 minutes to respond to the topic below. A time warning will be announced 10 minutes prior to the end of the test.

You will not be allowed to leave early.

• Write an analytical essay in which you express your thoughts carefully, logically, and effectively.
• Be sure to respond to all parts of the assignment.
• Provide examples and evidence to support your ideas.

Several years ago, futurists predicted that, as a result of developing technology and automation, people in the U.S. would have much more leisure than in the future. However, a recent survey indicates that since the early 1980s the median number of hours worked by Americans has increased by 20 percent while the amount of leisure time available to the average person has dropped by 32 percent. According to the survey, this trend toward less and less leisure time has been steady and unwavering.

· Discuss some possible causes and consequences of this trend.
· Support your response with examples from your own experience, observation, or reading.

Since the 1980's many breakthroughs in technology have made our lives as Americans easier. "You've got mail" is a phrase heard daily by millions across the country as they log on to the Internet, giving them quick & easy access to almost any information they desire. If we can accomplish things so much faster and easier, where does all that time go that we are saving/ According to the survey it doesn't go to leisure time, but to more work. The trends Americans have been making toward less leisure time does not argue the fact new technology and automation have made our lives easier, it just shows Americans may value work, money, and an education more than leisure.
Americans now on the average work 20% more than they did 18 years ago. We have to remember that's an average, total numbers of hours worked divided by total number of Americans. Back then there were many one-income households, women stayed home and raised the children. Now more women have entered the work force and bring home a paycheck. These new working women would bring the average way up. My own aunt never worked a day in her first 35 years alive, but now at 40 she's been working for the last five years, helping to contribute to the family income. The cultural phenomenon the Baby Boom from the 80's may also contribute to a greater # of Americans being part of the work force. Before they were all infants, now they've all grown up & gotten jobs. The survey doesn't prove that the average American works more hours a day, just that the group as a whole is working more, which is a positive sign. Now we have more people contributing.
Work is not the only thing Americans have been doing to take away from their leisure time. Americans have also been going back to school. When I graduated from high school it wasn't am I going to college, but what college am I going to go to? Education is seen as so valuable and important. It is what will get you ahead. Everybody's heard the message, from NBC's commercials with famous stars preaching about the more you know . . . to your parents both working hard to earn the money to afford college. The message is clear people are willing to sacrifice their leisure to getting an education. After graduating high school, students used to enter the work force, now they are going to school and getting jobs to pay for putting them through school. My first year at college I not only carried 15 units but I also worked two jobs. I had more important things to do than waste my time with watching T.V. The only consequence of this trend is having a better educated public.
The result of new technology and automation is new things for Americans to buy. Americans must work more to make more money so they can afford all that new technology. How many times have you heard the old adage time is money? To free up a lot of our time with modern conveniences such as computers and fax machines we have to pay for it. We need to work for the money so we can buy our own time. There are also many more luxury items on the market now that Americans didn't even know they needed before they existed. Now one cannot live without their Sprint PC digital phone. Not only has technology made our lives easier, it has also given us reasons to work more.
The futurist was right when he predicted that technology would give us more free time, he was just wrong about what we would spend that time doing. He assumed leisure would be the thing most valuable to us, but the survey proves he's wrong. I'm just speculating, but now maybe education is more important than fun. Or maybe modern conveniences like pagers & cell phones are more important than time spent lounging. All I know is that a harder working society can't be that bad, we will be contributing more. Hard work never killed anybody, right?
 

Analysis of Sample Answer III-A

Several years ago, futurists predicted that as a result of developing technology and automation Because
First, people in the United States has been a high standard, because American have to be confident that's also a causes American has a technology and automation and more leisure time in the future.
Second, the American have a aware themselves in the life. When all there children is a 18 years old, they can take care themselves because in the life the numbers of hours worked it usually correct with our life, so all American can go to school and take a half job to help them go to school and they also can take from some experience in the work there doing. Four that when they're going out in the social they have been aware to do some thing.
Third, the median number of hours worked by Americans has increased.

Analysis of Sample Answer III-B

I have observed that there is a trend toward less leisure time in America. As a result, Americans have experienced great success, however, they have also faced some consequences. We live in a very competitive society. Many people even immigrate to the United States to pursue the "American dream." As we look around, the media sells the message that material wealth (a nice car, the latest fashion, etc.) leads to happiness. Many American people want to work hard to attain what is considered valuable in the eyes of the world. I have personally experienced that people treat me with more respect when I am dressed well, especially in more affluent areas. Therefore, in order to maintain an image, and live comfortably, many people work more and have less leisure time. Today, many families even have two parents working outside the home to attain this lifestyle.
One consequence of more hours worked is less time spent with family. As a result, many families are being pulled apart as evidenced by the high divorce rate in our country. It is ironic because parents may think they are working extra hard to provide for the family. While in some cases this may be true, many children would rather have their parents at home more or available to attend their little league games. In two income families, many children spend several hours in day care.
There is less time during the week to establish & maintain the crucial bond between child and parent.
Another consequence of less leisure time is greater stress. This can often lead to health problems. Americans who do not take the time to relax or exercise may experience high blood pressure and/or other health complaints.
In conclusion, we live in a driven society that aims for success. From the time of our forefathers, our country was built on a hard work ethic. Despite the consequences, many Americans will continue to pursue success and material wealth. In our competitive society, this pursuit will require more hours of work and as a result, the trend toward a less leisure time will continue.

Analysis of Sample Answer III-C

Just a few decades ago, the advent of "labor saving devices" and automation promised to turn the Unites States into a Jetson's type world. The characters of the Hanna-Barberra cartoon live in a space-age state of perpetual leisure, with the exception of George Jetson, who works to pay for the automated household. His wife, on the other hand, shops and watches a hologram television while Rosie, the robotic maid, cleans house an watches the two children. Food comes from a computerized kitchen where Jane, the wife, presses a few buttons to select what they want to eat. George goes to work in a car which folds into a briefcase. Although all of the inventions of the cartoonist's mind do not exist today, the amount of technology available to us now would seem enough to lighten our workloads. Why is it, then, that even now the number of hours worked by the average American continues to rise? Technology itself is to blame for the lack of leisure time in the United States today, and the consequences of the disappearance of leisure from American society could be disastrous.
One might ask: how can a technological advancement such as the dishwasher, which saves the user time and energy by washing dishes automatically, actually cost the user leisure time? The answer is that, regardless of the inherent savings of time and energy that come with using an appliance, it costs money to buy and maintain the same things which are supposed to help out with chores and work. If the average American has a washer & dryer for their clothing, a dishwasher & refrigerator, a microwave oven, and a computer to help with work, it follows that they must work more to earn the thousands of dollars that these appliances costs. Furthermore, the rapid advancements in technology allow new and improved products to replace the old ones in stores. This means that the consumer is continually confronted with the need for a bigger fridge, a better microwave, a faster computer. One must work harder and harder to keep up with one's rate of consumption.
Another way in which technology forces Americans to work more is the automation of heavy industry. As traditional 9 to 5, blue collar factory jobs are replaced by automated machinery, the displaced workers have 2 options. One, they may accept a lower paying, less skilled labor job, which will force them to work more hours to support their standard of living. Two, they may go back to school or do more vocational training to obtain a job in administration or a different career altogether. Although this does not increase hours spent working, it does decrease leisure time because schooling requires extra time above and beyond time spent working to support oneself.
The results of all this working, schooling, and buying thins are widely varied, but there are a few which warrant close examination. The first of these is the rising incidence of stress related disease in contemporary American society. Ailments such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, ulcers, and even mental illness have been linked with too much stress. The lack of leisure time in the lives of most Americans contributes to the fact that heart disease is a leading cause of death in middle-aged Americans. The stereotype of the wealthy businessman whose wife must remind him, "Dear, calm down, remember your blood pressure" is all too true. A nervous breakdown is not even considered uncommon in some sectors of business and law, where pressure and stress are constantly high. People are literally working themselves to death.
One other result worth mentioning is the deterioration of the family. Previous to the industrial revolution, practically all leisure time and also often work time was spent with one's family. Today, in contrast to that earlier era, both parents usually work full time, leaving little time to spend with children or each other. The saying "the family that plays together, stays together" is proving itself all too true as lack of communication and quality time spent with family members leads to a more than 50% divorce rate and the phenomenon of the "latchkey kid" who spends his/her time with the tv and microwave rather than his/her parents.
Technological advancements are generally seen by consumers as always good, always productive, and always saving time and labor.
However, this is not always the case. If we are to continue on toward a Jetson's type of existence, we will have to work longer to afford the rising standard of living and sacrifice leisure time as well as heath and closeness of family. One may say that all of this leads toward an automated Utopia, but the final questions is: is it worth the trouble?

Analysis of Sample Answer III-D

The United States had been developing very strong. Many technologies and automation had been elevating quickly. People in United States thought that with progressive of technology and automation would have much more leisure time in the future. However, people had been having less leisure time than before.
First of all, when the technology and automation had been developing, there are many new models made attractive everybody. And to have them people have to work to earn more money to buy them. For instant, when you go to Goodguy store, you see many new models in the shell, they are very beautiful and can use with a lot of different functions. You so excited and but it with any cost. Thus, you have more time to go to work to make the money and so, you have less leisure time.
Second, the automation and technology more and more processing nonstop, the require time to know how to use more and more important. Before you use them, you have to learn how to do them work. For example, when you buy a computer at a store, you don't know how to use it. Therefore, you have to take a course to learn about them. So, after you had to work, you have to go to school instead of relax. You did not have more time to leisure for another tings. You had been working for your computer and the computer could not share its time time for you.
Finally, when you have time to enjoy your computer, you have less time to enjoy it. Because you have to do other jobs, not only computer. If you getting married, the time you spend for your computer will much less than you think. For example, if you have a child, she is two years old, she cries and she wants you play with her when she stays home with you on weekend. You think you will have more leisure time to enjoy you computer, moreover, you child will win on your computer. Because she just with you on weekend, she needs you care, and love her anyway. Therefore, you could not enjoy your computer as leisure time at all. You will busy all the time.
The technology and automation had not been giving you leisure time yet. They had been developing to serve human needs. However, they had been supplying for you less time to do anything that relate to your needs. They had been saving your time. But, saving for you in order to you do another jobs. Generally, the technology and automation would not provide enough much more leisure time for you in the future.
In short, the technology and automation have to change all the time to fit with human needs and giving them much more leisure time than last decates.

Analysis of Sample Answer III-E

The technology and automation are highly developed in today's society. These technologies bring people convenience and save their time. People Should have more leisure time due to the development of technology. However, Americans have less and less amount of leisure time according to a recent survey. The reasons that cause this trend toward less and less leisure time are competition, the developing of telecommunication, and the great amount of new knowledge.
The developing of technology and automation brings competition to people in this society. A new technology can create a lot of business and working opportunities. The development in computer business is very remarkable. These computer companies make several hundred million and more per year. People working for these computer companies face more and more competition. In order to survive in this highly competitive environment, they have to work over time. The computer programmers or engineers work over 12 hours a day just for finishing their job. They have less and less time for leisure activities.
The new technology brings a lot of knowledge. People have to learn how to use their new technologies in daily life. They have how to send e-mail or windown 98. They may spend one or two hours in learning these knowledge at home. Some people in big company have to learn how to operate the new system which is adapted by their company so that they have go back to school after work. As an result of learning technology and automation, people in the U. S. would not have time engage in leisure activities as much as before.
The highly development of telecommunication system also decrease the time which people can spend on their leisure activities. The communication system is more and more convenient. We can reach people at any time we want. We can e-mail people in computer instead of mailing people. The new technologies in telecommunication shorten the distence between people. However, the result of developing in telecommunication is that people spend more time in communication. The average person in the U. S. had to spend one t two hours in writing e-mails or talking on the cell phone. They spend too much time in contacting people so that they have less time in relaxing themselves.
We are in a highly developed country and people in this country should have a better life. Sad to say, people in this country have spend their leisure time to study the new technologies, to compete with others, and to communicate with people that they don't even know. However, this trend toward less and less leisure time has been steady and unwavering.

Analysis of Sample Answer III-F